2016 GMC Vibration on highway

[frank33v]

I am shopping for a new one ton truck for a new truck camper. We really like the looks and interior of the GMC double cab/long bed SLT. Took it for a test drive and it had a horrible vibration at 65-70 which I would normally attribute to flat spots on the tires from the truck sitting on the lot for 170 days and/or tire balancing. We decided to sleep on it and do a little research and found quite a few complaints online and some even brewing class action lawsuits.

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/174374-2015-silverado-lt-vibrationshaking/

Anyone else here experience this? Is this a big deal and old news or a just a minority of the owners experiences.

If it rules out GMC it only leaves my option as Ford as I am told the new RAM's rear suspension is not up to the task for a truck camper. ( the longer leaf spring ?? more squat??) I am not opposed to an F350 but seems it's gonna cost me more to get the creature comforts of a GMC or RAM SLT with Navigation.

[Wo_ody]

Glad you fixed your vibrations issues Crabbypatty;sounds like your problems were from normal wear and tear. How many miles on your truck?

My reference were to brand new Gms that vibrate right off the dealer's lot.

[Crabbypatty]

Just went through that. Left upper balljoint, right front tie rod, two tires and $992. No vibration anymore at 60-65. I don't go faster than that when towing....

[Wo_ody]

Search the DuraMax forum and you will find a long thread regarding GMs having a problem with vibrations in the 65-75 mph. Its been a year since I visited the thread so I'll be the first to acknowledge I am not up to date.

The vibration issue was hit or miss and not consistent from vehicle to vehicle or year to year. Most of the focus suggested re-balancing tires using the road force method which also produced mixed results.

Thread opinions also suggested the vibrations came from the drive shaft or the drive shaft connection to the rear end or the ring and pinion to axle connections. Certainly vibration could be caused by anything which spins.

Surprisingly, all "fixes" were with rims and tires mounted. If I experienced vibration, I would put the vehicle up on jacks and remove the wheels and tires and slowly spool the truck up to speeds. If you feel vibrations without the wheels and tires then you've got drive-line problems. A large pan of water positioned in the bed over top of the rear end would be a quick and good vibration indicator.

It would be wise to never believe a good tire balance will cure a vibration problem. Drive line problems can be a real nightmare to diagnose and solve. I'm of the opinion any manufacture would not be accommodating to address vibrations caused by drive line issues.

[Reddog1]

Vinsil wrote:
Oh I did...something happened to prevent it from draining all the way.

[Vinsil]

Oh I did...something happened to prevent it from draining all the way.

[Buzzcut1]

Vinsil wrote:

jimh425 wrote:

Vinsil wrote:
Let us know how the 6.2 goes...I've read good things.

Hopefully, you read the ones here including trip reports from brholt.

Thanks for the heads up, I have not followed his. A quick overview seems pretty favorable...and after taking almost a gallon of diesel to the face on Monday after changing my fuel filter...gas isn't so bad. BUT...I love my power...too much.

drain the filter by opening and draining the fuel water separator first to avoid the shower.

[Vinsil]

jimh425 wrote:

Vinsil wrote:
Let us know how the 6.2 goes...I've read good things.

Hopefully, you read the ones here including trip reports from brholt.

Thanks for the heads up, I have not followed his. A quick overview seems pretty favorable...and after taking almost a gallon of diesel to the face on Monday after changing my fuel filter...gas isn't so bad. BUT...I love my power...too much.

[jimh406]

Vinsil wrote:
Let us know how the 6.2 goes...I've read good things.

Hopefully, you read the ones here including trip reports from brholt.

[Vinsil]

frank33v wrote:

GeoBoy wrote:
I can't blame you for not buying that particular vehicle. When we made the deal on my truck, I am retired and know the owner of the dealership, I volunteered to do the dealer swap so I had at least a 3 hour drive to road test the truck I was purchaseing. Also a 1 ton, SRW, crew cab, long bed, gasser is a rare find. Did you get the 6.2 V8 or 6.8 V10?

I got the 6.2. If I am correct you can only get the 6.8 v10 in the F550+ models.

Let us know how the 6.2 goes...I've read good things.

[Bedlam]

The 6.8 V10 is only available in the F450 to F750 models.

[frank33v]

GeoBoy wrote:
I can't blame you for not buying that particular vehicle. When we made the deal on my truck, I am retired and know the owner of the dealership, I volunteered to do the dealer swap so I had at least a 3 hour drive to road test the truck I was purchaseing. Also a 1 ton, SRW, crew cab, long bed, gasser is a rare find. Did you get the 6.2 V8 or 6.8 V10?

I got the 6.2. If I am correct you can only get the 6.8 v10 in the F550+ models.

[GeoBoy]

I can't blame you for not buying that particular vehicle. When we made the deal on my truck, I am retired and know the owner of the dealership, I volunteered to do the dealer swap so I had at least a 3 hour drive to road test the truck I was purchaseing. Also a 1 ton, SRW, crew cab, long bed, gasser is a rare find. Did you get the 6.2 V8 or 6.8 V10?

[54suds]

I have talked with Bill on this subject in the past (owned 2 Dodges) and will say I he pointed out several design differences that would affect how Dodges handle TOP heavy loads


my 2015 GMC 3500 DWR had no vibration .

[frank33v]

billtex wrote:
Glad we resolved the 2016 GMC vibration issue...

LOL, My take away is that there is definitely an issue on some vehicle that a new buyer should look out for. Make sure you test it on a highway. There are too many posts online of folks having issues and not being able to get them resolved by their dealers to ignore it.

There are also many many folks without an issue as is representative here. And I am sure even more as you know no one takes time to posts online to say "yea my truck runs great".

The truck I drove had an issue. Potentially nothing more than a wheel balancing issue but also potentially something more and I wasn't going to drop $45-50k to hope that the dealer could fix it. There were no other 3500hd's on the lots in my area to try that where not loaded to the gills as the 2016's are not out yet.